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Non-Clinical Psychology Careers

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WannabeAOP

New Member
Hi all,

I did a quick search of the website and didn't find much on psychology careers, let alone non-clinical psych. I am planning on applying to both the Aerospace & Operational Physiologist (AOP) board as well as the Research Psychologist (RP) board. I have a master's in Human Factors and am waiting to hear back on my PhD application (same subject). AOPs don't have to have a doctorate, but do have a number of required courses in addition to a masters (organic chemistry, an additional chemistry course, physics, college mathematics, statistics, anatomy, and physiology) that I am finishing up this year. RPs do require a PhD, so my app would be postponed three years.

Questions I have at this point:
1. What are the average amount of positions available each FY? I realize both are extremely small communities, hence why I'm applying to both boards. My MS degree is specific to aerospace, but research is research.

2. How many positions are available in each for FY21?

3. If anyone has experience in either community, could you please explain what it's like, likes/dislikes, etc. I specifically selected my high ed degrees with these jobs in mind and would love to hear about the day-to-day. Most of my classmates are intending to go into academia instead.

Thank you all for the help/time. From a civilian standpoint, this website has played a crucial role in learning about military careers.
 
E

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
WannabeAOP said:
Hi all,

I did a quick search of the website and didn't find much on psychology careers, let alone non-clinical psych. I am planning on applying to both the Aerospace & Operational Physiologist (AOP) board as well as the Research Psychologist (RP) board. I have a master's in Human Factors and am waiting to hear back on my PhD application (same subject). AOPs don't have to have a doctorate, but do have a number of required courses in addition to a masters (organic chemistry, an additional chemistry course, physics, college mathematics, statistics, anatomy, and physiology) that I am finishing up this year. RPs do require a PhD, so my app would be postponed three years.

Questions I have at this point:
1. What are the average amount of positions available each FY? I realize both are extremely small communities, hence why I'm applying to both boards. My MS degree is specific to aerospace, but research is research.

2. How many positions are available in each for FY21?

3. If anyone has experience in either community, could you please explain what it's like, likes/dislikes, etc. I specifically selected my high ed degrees with these jobs in mind and would love to hear about the day-to-day. Most of my classmates are intending to go into academia instead.

Thank you all for the help/time. From a civilian standpoint, this website has played a crucial role in learning about military careers.
Click to expand...

I would contact the local recruiting district and ask to get in contact with the Medical Officer Recruiter, it will most likely be a medical service officer or nurse, or could be a HMC. They can help get you in contact with people to talk to, they can also tell you about open spots and they are probably already looking at FY 22 by now.

In generally the competition is stiff, my sister was looking at coming in to do Audiology and had a Masters degree, we found out that with a Masters she had no chance as there were so many with Doctorates the didn't need to look at those with Masters. I would ask to see what the status is with each of those programs to see if you need to do anything else in order to get the best chance of selection, hopefully you get an OR that is a straight shooter.
 
W

WannabeAOP

New Member
exNavyOffRec said:
I would contact the local recruiting district and ask to get in contact with the Medical Officer Recruiter, it will most likely be a medical service officer or nurse, or could be a HMC. They can help get you in contact with people to talk to, they can also tell you about open spots and they are probably already looking at FY 22 by now.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply! I feel for your sister. I am definitely aware of how rare it is to get into one of these spots. I reached out to a MSC recruiter in FY20 to get the stats for the year and it was pretty slim in both, but I didn't know if that had changed for this year. I followed up with him about FY21 slots in October but haven't heard back..

For this reason I am applying for a PhD and also considering the USAF equivalent to each, but am definitely bias towards Navy.
 
AllAmerican75

AllAmerican75

FUBIJAR
None
Contributor
WannabeAOP said:
Questions I have at this point:
1. What are the average amount of positions available each FY? I realize both are extremely small communities, hence why I'm applying to both boards. My MS degree is specific to aerospace, but research is research.

2. How many positions are available in each for FY21?

3. If anyone has experience in either community, could you please explain what it's like, likes/dislikes, etc. I specifically selected my high ed degrees with these jobs in mind and would love to hear about the day-to-day. Most of my classmates are intending to go into academia instead.

Thank you all for the help/time. From a civilian standpoint, this website has played a crucial role in learning about military careers.
Click to expand...

1. The community is tiny, like ridiculously tiny. I have a former colleague who is in one of these boats. He's PhD psychologist and does a lot of stuff at NAMI. We met when he was teaching in the Human Factors program at NPS. Right now he's doing work on VR training for pilots and is a qualified flight doc.

2. It's not many. You can probably count them on one hand. That doesn't matter, though. What matters is that you get your application as squared away as possible and apply.

3. The only billet I know of for sure is the professor position at NPS. Other than that I have no idea. I highly recommend reaching out to the community manager or whatever they call it to see if they can put you in touch with somebody. Small communities like this like to conduct interviews and make sure who they are bringing in is a good fit since they have so few billets. Here's a good start: https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-...taffCorps/Pages/MedicalServiceCorps(MSC).aspx
 
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WannabeAOP

New Member
AllAmerican75 said:
1. The community is tiny, like ridiculously tiny. I have a former colleague who is in one of these boats. He's PhD psychologist and does a lot of stuff at NAMI. We met when he was teaching in the Human Factors program at NPS. Right now he's doing work on VR training for pilots and is a qualified flight doc.

2. It's not many. You can probably count them on one hand. That doesn't matter, though. What matters is that you get your application as squared away as possible and apply.

3. The only billet I know of for sure is the professor position at NPS. Other than that I have no idea. I highly recommend reaching out to the community manager or whatever they call it to see if they can put you in touch with somebody. Small communities like this like to conduct interviews and make sure who they are bringing in is a good fit since they have so few billets. Here's a good start: https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-...taffCorps/Pages/MedicalServiceCorps(MSC).aspx
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info about your former colleague. Is he an AOP or RP?

I am trying my best to find related experiences and credentials to add to my package before submission. I've applied to a few military internships for this summer (ex. NREIP). And I have an idea for my AOP presentation (if I get the interview). I was told the best boards to aim for are right after the new fiscal year starts, so my aim is set for October. I'll reach out to a new MSC recruiter tomorrow to request updated information on FY21 and FY22. Thank you both!

I'll update this post on my results when the time comes.
 
E

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
WannabeAOP said:
Thanks for the quick reply! I feel for your sister. I am definitely aware of how rare it is to get into one of these spots. I reached out to a MSC recruiter in FY20 to get the stats for the year and it was pretty slim in both, but I didn't know if that had changed for this year. I followed up with him about FY21 slots in October but haven't heard back..

For this reason I am applying for a PhD and also considering the USAF equivalent to each, but am definitely bias towards Navy.
Click to expand...
the numbers rarely change much from FY to FY
 
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